US 5,882,785 AGranted

Nonlinear optical films from pair-wise-deposited semi-ionomeric syndioregic polymers

AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy

InventorsRichard A. Hollins, Geoffrey A. Lindsay, Marion J. Roberts, Peter Zarras, John D. Stenger-Smith, Kenneth J. Wynne, Andrew P. Chafin

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

patentgrep

Loading patent…

Abstract

This invention is comprised of new nonlinear optic polymers and a new Lanir-Blodgett (LB) film deposition scheme for which these polymers were designed. The invention is unique because it produces an electro-optic film which has never undergone electric-field poling nor high temperature treatment. It eliminates the dilution effect of the long hydrophobic alkyl groups, and creates stronger ionic bonds between the polymer chains. Finally, the invention reduces the time to make a film of a given thickness by at least half by virtue of depositing two polymer layers per stroke. The new polymers are comprised of asymmetric chromophores linked head-to-head by alternating two different kinds of bridging groups. One of the bridging groups contains one or more ionic groups, and the other bridging group contains one or more non-ionic, hydrophilic groups.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A polarized film, comprising:

at least one molecular bilayer having the formula:
##STR10## wherein:
n the number of bilayers, is from 1 to 4000;
F is a semi-ionic mainchain, head-to-head chromophoric polymer which during the fabrication of the film floats on a liquid subphase of a Langmuir-Blodgett trough and is essentially insoluble in said subphase;
S is a semi-ionic mainchain, head-to-head chromophoric polymer which is soluble in said subphase;
said F polymers having the opposite charge of said S polymers;
C.sub.F and C.sub.S are chromophores of polymers F and S, respectively, and wherein, said chromophores have an electron accepting group at the end represented by an arrow head, and an electron donating group at the other end, and a rigid connecting group which contains delocalized p-electrons and which is connected between the electron accepting end and the electron donating end of said chromophores;
B.sub.NFD is a nonionic bridging group, extending between and being part of said electron donating ends of two C.sub.F chromophores;
B.sub.IFA is an ionic bridging group, extending between and being part of said electron accepting ends of two C.sub.F chromophores;
B.sub.NSA is a nonionic bridging group, extending between and being part of said electron accepting ends of two C.sub.S chromophores;
B.sub.ISD is an ionic bridging group having the opposite charge of B.sub.IFA, extending between and being part of the electron donating ends of two C.sub.S chromophores;
and y.sub.F and y.sub.S are degrees of polymerization of polymers F and S respectively, which independently range from a minimum value of 2 to a maximum value of about 300.

9 more elements

A polarized film, comprising:

at least one molecular bilayer having the formula:
##STR18## wherein:
n the number of bilayers, is from 1 to 4000;
F' is a semi-ionic mainchain, head-to-head chromophoric polymer which during the fabrication of the film floats on a liquid subphase of a Langmuir-Blodgett trough and is essentially insoluble in said subphase;
S' is a semi-ionic mainchain, head-to-head chromophoric polymer which is soluble in said subphase;
said F' polymers having the opposite charge of said S' polymers;
C.sub.F ' and C.sub.S ' are chromophores of polymers F' and S', respectively, and wherein, said chromophores have an electron accepting group at the end represented by an arrow head, and an electron donating group at the other end, and a rigid connecting group which contains delocalized p-electrons and which is connected between the electron accepting end and the electron donating end of said chromophores;
B.sub.NFA is a nonionic bridging group, extending between and being part of said electron accepting ends of two C.sub.F ' chromophores;
B.sub.IFD is an ionic bridging group, extending between and being part of said electron donating ends of two C.sub.F ' chromophores;
B.sub.NSD is a nonionic bridging group, extending between and being part of said electron donating ends of two C.sub.S ' chromophores;
B.sub.ISA is an ionic bridging group having the opposite charge of B.sub.IFD, extending between and being part of the electron accepting ends of two C.sub.S ' chromophores;
y.sub.F ' and y.sub.S ' are degrees of polymerization of polymers F' and S' respectively, which independently range from a minimum value of 2 to a maximum value of about 300.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.